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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. swing — to play on
  3. press — a publisher
  4. saw — the tool
  5. squash — the sport
  6. squash — to crush
  7. swing — music
  8. press — to push
  9. last — to go on
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. saw — the tool
  15. last — finally
  16. kick — in football
  17. bore — to tire
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. press — newspapers
  21. plane — a tool
  22. bore — to drill
  23. swing — in golf
  24. kick — with a leg

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com